CARU Reviews Ad for Zuru’s ‘Dory’ and ‘Bailey’ Toys; Recommends Advertiser Modify Swimming Pool Scene to Address Safety Concerns

New York, NY – Oct. 12,  2016  – The Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) has recommended that Zuru Inc., the maker of products that include the “Finding Dory: Swimming Dory and Bailey Robofish,” modify broadcast advertising for the toys to address CARU’s safety concerns over swimming pool scenes.  The company has agreed to do so.

CARU, an investigative unit of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation, monitors advertising directed to children in all media and across all platforms. CARU is administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

Television advertising for the products came to CARU’s attention through CARU’s routine monitoring of advertising directed to children. The commercial featured two children swimming under water in a pool with their Dory and Bailey toys. CARU’s guidelines provide that when an activity would be unsafe without adult supervision, supervision should be depicted. In this case, the swimming pool scenes did not show adult supervision. CARU has long held that swimming is an activity that poses a potential safety risk for children and has required that advertisers visually depict adult supervision when featuring images of children in activities involving water, whether in a swimming pool, at the beach, or on a water slide in a back yard.

In response to CARU’s inquiry, the advertiser said that children’s safety “is of utmost concern to Zuru. If we elect to air the commercial again in future we will make the suggested modifications or remove the pool scenes.”